Handel’s Messiah

ABOUT THIS CONCERT

This Christmas, be moved by Handel’s ever-glorious setting of the greatest story ever told. The Houston Symphony, chorus and guest soloists join forces to fill Jones Hall with joyous refrains and exultant arias, including the powerful “Hallelujah” Chorus.

PROGRAM

ARTISTS

British conductor Jane Glover has been Music of the Baroque’s music director since 2002. After making her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975, she joined Glyndebourne in 1979 and was music director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1981 to 1985. Other posts have included artistic director of the London Mozart Players (1984-1991), director of opera at the Royal Academy of Music (2009-2016) and principal conductor of the Huddersfield and the London Choral Societies.

Jane has conducted all the major symphony and chamber orchestras in Britain, as well as orchestras in Europe, the United States, Asia and Australia. Jane has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Glyndebourne, Berlin Staatsoper, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Opera Australia, Chicago Opera Theater, Opéra national du Rhin, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Luminato, Madrid’s Teatro Real and Teatro La Fenice. She has regularly conducted all of Mozart’s operas all over the world since she first performed them at Glyndebourne in the 1980s. Her core operatic repertoire also includes Monteverdi, Handel and Britten.

Current and future engagements include Così fan tutte with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; continuing seasons with Music of the Baroque in Chicago; and concert appearances with the Cleveland, Minnesota and BBC Concert Orchestras, the San Francisco Symphony and the Oregon Bach and Aspen Music Festivals.

Jane’s discography includes recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Britten and Walton with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the BBC Singers. She has authored two critically acclaimed books, Mozartʼs Women (2005) and Handel in London (2018). Jane holds a doctorate from St. Hugh’s College, several honorary degrees, a personal professorship at the University of London, a fellowship of the Royal College of Music and an honorary membership in the Royal Academy of Music, where she is now the Felix Mendelssohn Visiting Professor. She is a visiting professor of opera at the University of Oxford. She was created a Commander of the British Empire in the 2003 New Year’s Honours.

Soprano Ying Fang has been hailed by the New York Times for her “pure and moving soprano, phrasing with scrupulous respect for the line and traveling with assurance through the mercurial moods,” as well as “singing with a fresh, appealing soprano and acting with coquettish flair.”

The 2017-2018 season launches with a house debut at Opernhaus Zürich as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Additional opera highlights of the season include a return to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Noémie in Massenet’s Cendrillon in a new production directed by Laurent Pelly, performances as Morgana in Handel’s Alcina with Washington National Opera, and a house debut at Vancouver Opera as Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. Concert appearances will include Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Los Angeles Philharmonic directed by Peter Sellars under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, a recital with pianist Ken Noda at Carnegie Hall featuring Schubert lieder, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Montclair Symphony conducted by David Chan. Ms. Fang will return to the Verbier Festival for a solo recital, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, and a performance of the Fauré Requiem under Mark Minkowski. She will also appear with the Verbier Chamber Ensemble at Schloss Elmau.

Ms. Fang’s 2016-2017 season included Metropolitan Opera appearances as Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Elvira in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri, and Jano in Janáček’s Jenůfa. She also portrayed Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in a Stephen Lawless production for Opera Philadelphia and sang Bellezza in Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno with conductor Emmanuelle Haïm with Opéra de Lille. Ms. Fang appeared with the New York Philharmonic in a concert of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conducted by Alan Gilbert and an all-Mozart program under Bernard Labadie. She also performed Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann, sang Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Pittsburgh Symphony under conductor Manfred Honeck, ventured to Chicago for Telemann’s Der Tag des Gerichts with Music of the Baroque Orchestra conducted by Jane Glover, and joined St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble for a Schubertiade in New York.

Previous appearances for Ms. Fang include Barbarina in the season-opening new production of Le Nozze di Figaro conducted by James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera, where she also sang Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, the Shepherd in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, and the Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel conducted by Sir Andrew Davis; as well as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro directed by Stephen Wadsworth at The Juilliard School, where she also performed the title role in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide conducted by Jane Glover. In addition, she made her Verbier Festival and role debut singing Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff alongside Bryn Terfel and led by Jesús López Cobos, and returned to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence for its production of Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. She also debuted at the Ravinia Festival in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 under the baton of James Levine, joined the Mediterranean Youth Symphony for a European tour of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conducted by Carlo Rizzi, and was featured in the Metropolitan Opera and the Juilliard School’s joint concert of comic operas conducted by James Levine, in which she sang Konstanze, Teresa, and Adina. She has also appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall as part of the Neighborhood Concert Series and at the Kennedy Center under the auspices of Vocal Arts DC, both with pianist Ken Noda. Other notable recent appearances include Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare and Contessa di Folleville in Rossini’s Il Viaggio A Reims, both with the Wolf Trap Opera Company, the title role in Mozart’s Zaïde with the New World Symphony, and Bellezza in Handel’s oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno with Juilliard 415 under the baton of William Christie at Alice Tully Hall. She also appeared at Aspen Opera Theater Center where she was heard as Maria in Bernstein’s West Side Story and in the role of Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the Aspen Opera Theater Center, of which the Aspen Times wrote: “Soprano Ying Fang sang Pamina with a creamy tone and marvelous specificity in each moment.”

Ms. Fang made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2013-14 season singing the role of Madame Podtochina’s Daughter in Shostakovich’s opera The Nose. At the Juilliard School, she has been seen as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Fanny in Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio, and the Spirit of the Boy in Britten’s Curlew River. She made her Alice Tully Hall debut performing Handel’s motet Silete Venti with conductor Steven Fox leading the Juilliard 415, and appeared as the soprano soloist in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap.

A native of Ningbo, China, Ms. Fang is the recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award, the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, the Rose Bampton Award of The Sullivan Foundation, The Opera Index Award, and the 1st Prize Award of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition. In 2009, she become one of the youngest singers to win one of China’s most prestigious awards – the China Golden Bell Award for Music. She has been hailed as “the most gifted Chinese soprano of her generation” by Ningbo Daily.

Ms. Fang holds a Master’s degree and an Artist Diploma in Opera Study from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor’s degree from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

When Elizabeth DeShong sang in Rossini’s rarely-performed Maometto II at the Canadian Opera Company, the National Post wrote, “Even more impressive was Elizabeth DeShong as Calbo, a bellicose Venetian general with a human side. . . there could be no better demonstration of the viability of a woman in a heroic male role. Vibrant tone, pyrotechnic technique, intense stage presence, spot-on-diction: this American mezzosoprano has it all.”

This season, Elizabeth sang Adalgisa in Norma with the North Carolina Opera. She will tour with The English Concert performing Juno and Ino in Handel’s Semele and sing Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito with the Los Angeles Opera. In addition to these Houston concerts, she performed in recital for Vocal Arts DC at the Kennedy Center and will perform in concert with Music of the Baroque. She debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic (as Ariel in Sibelius’ The Tempest) and with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the Rossini Stabat Mater under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In summer 2019, she will make her role debut in the title role in Handel’s Rinaldo at Glyndebourne.

Last season, she returned to Washington National Opera to sing Ruggiero in Alcina and Arsace in Semiramide at the Metropolitan Opera. In concert, she performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Music of the Baroque and debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Schubert’s Mass No. 6 and the world premiere of Three Lisel Mueller Settings by Maxwell Raimi, both conducted by Riccardo Muti. In Europe, Elizabeth returned to Glyndebourne to perform Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and made her debut with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and at the Proms in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, followed by her debut at the Edinburgh Festival singing Hansel in Hansel and Gretel in a concert performance with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Elizabeth DeShong received Washington National Opera’s 2010 Artist of the Year award, as the Composer in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. On DVD, she can be seen as Hermia in the Metropolitan Opera’s pastiche opera The Enchanted Island (Virgin) and as Maffio Orsini in the San Francisco Opera’s production of Lucrezia Borgia (EuroArts Music and Naxos of America). Her recording of Handel’s Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis (Chandos) received two Grammy nominations in the Best Choral Performance and Producer of the Year, classical categories for 2018.

Thomas Cooley is a singer of great versatility, expressiveness and virtuosity, in demand internationally for a wide range of repertoire in concert, opera and chamber music.

His repertoire on the symphonic stage includes works such as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony; Berlioz’ Requiem, Les nuits d’été and L’enfance du Christ; Haydn’s The Seasons; Britten’s War Requiem and Serenade; Stravinsky’s Les Noces; Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and Elijah; Mozart’s Requiem; Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius; Rihm’s Deus Passus; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde; and Penderecki’s Credo. Recent concert highlights include the world premiere and recording of Christopher Theofanidis’ Creation/Creator with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Bruckner’s Te Deum and his first foray into Wagner with an excerpt from Parsifal with the St. Louis Symphony.

Particularly renowned for his agility and skill in Baroque music, Thomas is in demand as an interpreter of the works of Bach and Handel, most especially in the role of the Evangelist in Bach’s Passions and in the great oratorios of Handel. He appears regularly with such historically informed groups as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society, Music of the Baroque, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Akadamie für Alte Musik Berlin, Boston Baroque, the Carmel and Oregon Bach Festivals, Les Violons du Roy and the Munich Bach Choir. Named artist-in-residence for the 2015-16 season at Music of the Baroque in Chicago, he performed Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, a program of Bach cantatas and the title role in Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus.

Baritone Christòpheren Nomura stands at the forefront of his generation of singers. He has performed throughout the world, hailed as one of classical music’s “rising stars” by The Wall Street Journal.

He has earned a prominent place on the operatic, concert and recital stages, appearing with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra under conductors Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, Christopher Hogwood, Jane Glover and Nicholas McGegan, among others.

Christòpheren has been a regular guest with the Pacific Symphony, North Carolina Symphony and the National Philharmonic. He premiered Philip Glass’ The Passion of Ramakrishna for the Pacific Symphony, reprised and recorded it there and showcased it at Carnegie Hall in 2017. A noted Bach specialist, he has performed with The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Oregon Bach Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, Music of the Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society and the Boston Early Music Festival.

In opera, Christòpheren is a noted Mozartean who has likewise had a strong association with Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and was Prince Yamadori in the Scorsese / Mitterand film, conducted by James Conlon. In 2015, he debuted on Broadway in Allegiance with George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung, subsequently recorded and shown in HD video broadcasts throughout the world. He has collaborated with the Borromeo, Brentano and St. Lawrence String Quartets as well as Martin Katz, Charles Wadsworth, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and William Bolcom at leading music festivals: Santa Fe, Marlboro, Tanglewood, La Jolla, Spoleto, Music@Menlo and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Known for his commitment to art song, he has given hundreds of recitals throughout North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. He has appeared at Lincoln Center, the Making Music series at Carnegie Hall, the Celebrity Series in Boston, Ravinia Festival, the John F. Kennedy Center and the Vancouver Recital Society. He was artist-in-residence with San Francisco Performances for four seasons.

Among many notable career highlights, he sang Bernstein’s Mass at the Vatican for the Jubilee Year in 2000 performing before an audience of 15,000 in the Sala Nervi, simulcast to some 200,000 people in Vatican Square. Christòpheren Nomura’s discography includes recordings on the Sony, Dorian, Teldec, London, Denon, TDK and l’Oiseau Lyre labels.